About Me

I am a Bicolano by birth and choice. By any standards, I am a slow runner but I like it that way. I look at running as a healthy and exciting way to make a difference. Together with my fellow runners from our family, school, office and the community, we use running to give back..

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June 21, 2014

INDEPENDENCE DAY ULTRA MARATHON: Fire Over Cold

“Ite, inflammate omnia”

In English, “Go set the
world on fire.” These were the words being used, on the morning of June 14, by the lively Fr. Jboy Gonzales of the Ateneo
High School Campus Ministry as he exhorted
the parents to “burn baby burn” in being partners with the school in
nurturing a culture of warmth among the students and the community.

I was among
those parents and the Jesuit motto proved to be pivotal in my decision to push
thru with my participation in an ultra marathon in the midnight hour of that
very same Saturday.

Days before, Wednesday to be
exact, the Bicolano Penguin was felled
by a severe cold. I was sneezing a lot and the following day (a non-working
holiday) I was not even able to do a short 5km run with my son Marcel in UP
given the ailment which had the sick idea of festering me till the weekend and
beyond. This was bad news for me because I was looking forward to nailing my 11th ultra on June 15. But given the cold and now fever, I had to
think twice, thrice, even. Worst, my Commander-in-Chief (CIC) saw my condition that Thursday night and
declared, in no uncertain terms, that she would exercise a matrimonial veto to
my ultra adventure if I still were not feeling well come Saturday. Thus, Friday the 13th for me was a bummer of
a dark cat. I was feeling down and out because the inevitable was to be that I would not be running the ultra on Sunday.

Then came that Saturday morning
activity which was the Parents’ Day for Grade 10. Boy, this Fr. Jboy is one hell
of a motivational speaker. Firebrand
even, he sheperded the crowd, zombie-like at the start, into an army of zealous
altruists. Most importantly, he made the listening crowd feel good. And this is
what I was come the end of the speech. Feeling good and feeling ablaze. The cold seemed to have vanished.

Upon closer reflection, I figured that these words were just the right thing for me in the
face of depression and self-doubt. The
founder of the Society of Jesus, St.
Ignatius of Loyola, often ended his letters to Jesuits going to the
missions with the expression “ite, inflammate omnia.” These words were more
than a rah-rah expression. These were serious words. The good Saint wanted the Jesuits to be set afire with
passion and zeal for whatever they pursue.

The Jesuits being a source of
inspiration for me, I figured that runners, particularly ultra runners, must also have themselves set afire with
passion and zeal for the sports they love. If my love for running is that deep,
then how come I am allowing the cold and the fever to stop me from running the
ultra marathon. Mind you, many an expert have prescribed rest from running when
a runner has a cold. Even the great
runner-philosopher, the late Dr. George Sheehan, included in his “tried and
true rules of the road for runners,” the precept that one should not run with a
cold. His exact words are “Do not run
with a cold. A cold means you are
overtrained. You have already too much. Wait at least 3 days, preferably longer.”

To go against these words of
wisdom, I have to adhere to words of faith which fit to a T the “ite,
inflammate omnia.”

Seeing the passion in my eyes and
listening to the gentle force in my words, my CIC capitulated and gave her
blessings for me to run. Just come back
in one piece, she requested. Dead or alive? I queried in my mind.

Come 12 midnight of June 14
transitioning into June 15, the Bicolano Penguin with my Altra Torin lined up with the last row of runners at the Start Area of the Independence Day
Ultra Marathon. The 50-km route, as planned by the organizers – Run Mania
Phils, will take the 500+ runners from the cradle of Philippine Independence in
Kawit, Cavite to the mountains of Maragondon. Joining me to run this ultra was
all-smile all-star Ernie while providing support was the formidable duo of Bob,
who is one excellent ultra runner, and
Orly the ever-reliable driver. At the starting area, while waiting for the gun
start, we bumped into several familiar
faces, a handful of whom we had the pleasure of having a group photo.

The BP with Efren & Vangie Gregorio

Ernie with Perkins

Singing of the National Anthem were it all started, not just for this ultra but for the country’s independence

Gunstart was not exactly at 12
am. It came at 12:11 am, by my watch. This was after a heartful singing of the national anthem.

The start was a bit late (ultra
marathons are distinguished for starting sharp on the dot of the published
start time) but none were complaining because all the runners were on a festive mood. Some have even donned national costumes like the Maria Clara-inspired saya and pinoy head gear like the straw
sombrero.

A diva in a saya and his friend

Minana ko pa kay Lolo Andres itong sombrero.

Ernie and myself were not garbed
in a barong but instead were proudly wearing our row5runnin dri-fits. This
was more for safety purposes as this shirt had green neon 5 placed on
the front center. The number served as a
reflectorized item which would make us more visible to oncoming traffic.

The row5runners breezing thru Kawit into Noveleta

Passing thru the towns of Kawit,
Noveleta and Tanza, the first 20 kms was a breeze for the penguin. First, this portion of the ultra is all flat
and the roads are wide. Second, I was
being paced by Ernie and his Hoka Bondi. Running alone an ultra is tiring but
it becomes less tiring when you run with a buddy. But entering the town of
Naic, I noticed, given that it was just
3am in the morning, my eyes were beginning to close. Clearly, I lacked sleep
and a culprit to my drowsiness was the festering cold. I wondered how long before I would just stop
running/walking and elect to seek the
comforts of the Montero for some sleep. Some ultra runners we saw were at times, sitting down and resting on
the many waiting sheds along the way.

The Bicolano Penguin slowing down for some shuteye somewhere in the outskirts of Naic. Coffee dear.

There was no sleeping for me in
the support vehicle as our veteran support crew duo made sure of that. Observing my sleep walking, Bob regularly
shouted words of encouragement, the most effective of which was the word
“Togot.” That got the penguin going and scanning the horizon for beauty and
sexy. Also, they had the salt and the mountain dew ready for me at every pit
stop with the support vehicle. And to reward me for my effort of finishing yet
another 5-km leapfrog, they had my green director’s chair ready for me to sit
down where Orly could give me a massage to my running muscles. The passion to aid was ablaze in the hearts of Orly and Bob as all the other support crews out
there on the road.

Reaching the Km 30 marker in the
vicinity of both Maragondon and Ternate, the complexion of the ultra changed a
bit literally and figuratively. At this point, it was becoming less dark as
dawn approaches. Significantly for the participants, Km 30 to Km 40 is the
portion of the ultra where the race organizers have designated as zero support
vehicle area. Ironically this is the
portion of the race where majority of the middle-of-the-pack and
back-of-the-pack runners would need their respective support vehicles given that Km 33 onwards are
hills. Rules are rules and we think the
rationale for the organizers was more on safety as the road on the hills is narrower and has less shoulder areas. Of course we will follow the rules but leave it to Pinoy ingenuity to
look for a loophole or 2 on them rules.

More significantly for me, Km 30
is where Ernie would run at a faster
pace. He committed to run with me up to
this point and he has delivered on that promise. Knowing his penchant for negative splits, he
would surely run faster which the penguin in me could not keep up. I guess I will be a solitary runner on the
upcoming hills of the Mt. Palay-palay National Park. How I wish there could be
some familiar faces that I could kibitz with on them uphells.

“Ask and you shall receive.” The
Good Book talks about this and surely enough, as Ernie left me in his dust,
there came a couple in red orange. Familiar and friendly faces in Efren and
Vangie. Fellow TBRDM alumni. I admire
this running couple as they conquer ultra marathons without a dedicated support
vehicle. They did it in the T2N last month and they will successfully tackle
this one. Smiling, I asked if I could tag along and they
readily accepted my company. Perhaps to
celebrate the running acquaintance, we found ourselves stopping in the
water/food station of Run Mania which was serving ice cream. We gladly got our share and posed for a sweet
group picture.

Ice cream at Km 30 station with Efren & Vangie Gregorio

There was more running to be had and the hills of Mt. Palay-palay National Park loomed in the horizon. We got to
have our butts moving which we did.

A welcome sight greeted us as the
road veered to the left signalling the start of the uphells. There was Bob
standing by the road with the cooler (with wheels) by his side. I guess he took
to heart what I said at the start of the ultra that if the organizers enforce the zero support vehicle policy from Km 30 to Km 40 then one of the support crew
would have to run with me, bringing along with him the cooler on wheels filled
with Gatorade and Mt Dew. Laughing, I
said back at the start that the
prohibition is on support vehicle which is clearly different from a support
runner. So there was Bob ready to execute the loophole which he did by running
with me for a hundred meters with the cooler. Both of us had a hearty laugh and I could hear snickers from the passing support vehicles.

The loophole. Mea culpa.

Having had a good laugh, I told
Bob that the Brotherhood of Ultra Fuckers (BUF) is clearly alive and well but
this was ridiculous. We phoned Orly to come back and pick up Bob
already. I strapped on my Orange Mud Double Barrel Hydra Quiver for my
hydration needs and continued with my Galloway. The Bicolano Penguin can
manage, what with the running companionship of kindred spirits like the
Gregorio running couple.

And there were more affable ultra
runners on the road which I got to encounter and share a chat (and even a
selfie) as we trudged thru the ultra which was nearing already the last 10 kms
of this ultra.

There was the running pair of Mon
and Jai. What got my attention was both of them were wearing Newton running
shoes. Unlike Asics, Brooks, Saucony,
Nike and even Hoka, the Newton brand is
not a common sight in the local ultra running scene. Given their running shoes noted for speed,
the duo were constantly overtaking me. The mystery for me was how come I kept being overtaken by them when I
didn’t recall overtaking them back.

Team Newton

Photo with Mon

Another pair was two runners from
the Samahang Mananakbo ng Smart (SMS). Walking uphill as we neared the Km 40 marker, I saw the 2 walking a hundred meters ahead. Knowing that they were
part of SMS, a running group I admire, I transitioned from a lazy walk to power
walking so that I could catch up with the two. Successful in keeping abreast with them, I got to chat and told them how I admire the
SMS and Smart’s involvement in activities of its employees. The SMS experience,
to my mind, is a best practice case
study for employer-employee engagement. The 2 SMS runners were kind enough to
have a selfie with me. The male runner’s
name was Ipe but I forgot the name of the lady.
Early bout of alzheimer’s for
the BP.

Catching up with 2 SMS runners

Selfie with SMS

Beyond the Km 40 marker, the runners
could not yet turn left on the road to Kaybiang Tunnel but instead had to run
roughly 2.5 kms forward to Caylabne and
then do a U-turn in front of the gate entrance to a military base for the Philippine Marines. Looking at
the big billboard that says “The Few The Proud. The Marines”, I found it to be appropriate in referring to
the local ultra runners. We are relatively few and definitely we are a proud
bunch. Add loud to the equation.

The Few. The Proud. The Loud.

At the U-turn point, Orly pointed
out that the odometer in the support vehicle read already 49 kms. With at least 2.5 kms going back to the point
where we could turn (right this time) to Kaybiang Tunnel and then at least 1.5 kms beyond the turn to reach the finish
line, the exact distance was definitely beyond 50 kms for the Independence Day
Ultra. Again, another brand signature of
Run Mania-organized ultras. It is never
“kulang”, always “dagdag.”

Following the unwritten rule in
the local ultra scene of not quibbling with the distance (after all if you have
done close to 50 kms already, what is a handful more kilometers), the runners
gamely trudged on. We know fully well that the finish line was almost there for
the taking.

But before we had that blissful
finish, one last delight remained. That
is the penetration of the 300-meter long Kaybiang Tunnel, which was less than a
kilometer away from the finish. Expectedly, many photographers were in
position. No doubt, the ultra runners
did not disappoint with their best running form(s) and sweetest killer smiles.

Ernie all smile

A tired yet smiling penguin

Clapping all the way thru the tunnel

A blissful smile

The finish line was a hub of
blissful emotions. There was the
generous applause from fellow participants as you near the finish. There was the solo photo opportunity to
raise the finish line banner. There was the queue to get the finisher’s
medal, certificate, trophy and meal. I
really didn’t mind the long line (very short actually when compared to RU
standards) and in fact, it gave me the
opportunity to talk with the other runners on the queue. Turns out that the next runner to cross the finish line after me is a
fellow Bicolano while the one next to him is a fellow parishioner of mine in
Paranaque. Small world indeed.

We are happy to represent our Ateneo de Naga HS Batch 1983 in this ultra.

First Balfour – inspired by values, powered by good

Ernie represented BPI quite well.

With Efren

Which brings me to the finish of
this article. Running ultras, for me, have the effect of making our world
smaller. So small that travelling from
one point to another point can be had by the power of our own two feet. Years
back, that is before my running, I would not have imagined that I could reach
Maragondon from Kawit just by running. But now, any place is fair game for conquest by foot as long as our hearts
are set afire with passion and zeal.

Fire conquers the cold anytime,
anywhere.

Got me a lobster from a vendor in the finish line area. Fire will surely conquer this seafood.

A rare middle-of-the-pack finish for a perennial
back-of-the-packer

P.S.

Many thanks to Pat and the people behind Run
Mania for a job well done with the Independence Day Ultra Marathon. The running
fiesta(s) that you produce is getting to
be a habit for many in the local ultra community.

Thank you to all the photographers
(Shuttermae, Manna Manganar, Run Lipa, Day Spotted, Believe & Never Give
Up, and many more) on the road that June 15 morning. Your
patience and artistry captured succinctly our romantic quest to be extraordinary.